Olympic Stadium

The sports facility with most history in Barcelona.

Basic Info

Passeig Olímpic, 15-17

https://www.estadiolimpic.cat

Designed by architect Pere Domènech i Roura, the Olympic Stadium of Barcelona was inaugurated on May 20, 1929, on the occasion of the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition. Considered the second largest stadium in the world, the structure was initially conceived in hopes of hosting the 1936 Olympic Games, but the political situation in Spain at the time made such a possibility all but impossible.

It was not until fifty years had passed that the Stadium was able to return to its Olympian aspirations, thanks to a team of architects comprised of Gregotti, Correa, Milà, Margarit and Buixadé. Renovations began in 1985, enhancing the complex with new facilities and services, and expanding its capacity to host up to 60,000 spectators, and giving it a top-to-bottom architectural makeover, while maintaining the unique façade of the original structure.

The site finally fulfilled its destiny by hosting the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, although it had officially opened three years prior, with the 1989 World Cup in Athletics. During the Olympics, the Stadium served as the official headquarters for the opening and closing ceremonies, playing host to various competitive events as well.

On March 31, 2001, its name was officially changed to Montjuïc Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, to honor the former president of the Catalonian Regional Government.

Since the 1992 Olympics, the Stadium has hosted numerous athletic, corporate, family and musical events, welcoming some of the world’s best-loved performers in pop and rock, like Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, ACDC, Rolling Stones, Coldplay and Beyoncé.

Sants-Montjuïc, located on the southern end of the city, is Barcelona’s largest district, abutting the municipalities El Hospitalet de Llobregat and El Prat del Llobregat. It comprises various neighborhoods, each with its own character, like the formerly industrial areas of Sants, Hostafrancs, Poble-sec, and La Bordeta, as well as the port area and the Zona Franca Customs Authority. And it’s home to one of Barcelona’s most popular green spaces, the mountain of Montjuïc, crowned by a castle that defended the city’s coast in times past.

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